Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah in the Punjab Assembly on Friday refused to apologise for his misogynistic remarks about female attendees of a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) rally, prompting the opposition to stage a walk-out from the house.

"I have withdrawn my statement but will not say sorry," Sanaullah said regarding his unsavoury remarks. "I will not even say the first letter 's' of sorry," he added.

Sanaullah, while speaking to reporters outside the Punjab Assembly on Monday, made inappropriate comments about the women who attended the rally at Lahore's Minar-i-Pakistan, saying: "The women who attended the rally were not from honourable families because their dance moves implied where they had actually come from."

Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Mahmoodur Rasheed said that although Sanaullah had withdrawn his statement, he should also apologise.

But PML-N MPA Rana Arshad, among others on the treasury benches, supported Sanaullah, saying that the opposition's demand was uncalled for.

They said that if the provincial law minister was being asked to apologise, the PTI should first apologise to party chief Imran Khan's daughter, and that Khan's BlackBerry cellphone mentioned by MNA Ayesha Gulalai ─ who hurled accusations of harassment via cellphone messages against the PTI chief ─ should be investigated.

The opposition then staged a walk-out after their repeated demands for an apology went unheard.

Although Sanaullah has refused to apologise, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif apologised earlier this week on behalf of his party members amid demands for action against Sanaullah, and federal state ministers Abid Sher Ali and Tallal Chaudhry.

The Punjab government also distanced itself from the derogatory remarks made by Sanaullah, Ali and Chaudhry.